My Mommy Hestia
by unknown lunatic
Summary: Percy is left alone on the streets as a mere baby. He is found and cared for by Hestia. She raises him on Olympus but keeps him a secret. What about camp? Poseidon? Powers? Will the council find out? Hestia welcomes flames/criticism, no wack mean reviews. Possible OOCness. Question: Should Percy be shown doing ALL of the quests in the books, like Golden Fleece, Artemis, etc?
1. Prologue

**My Mommy Hestia**

**Summary: Percy is left alone as a little kid. He is found and cared for by Hestia. She cares for him but keeps him a secret. What about camp? Poseidon? Powers? Will the council find out?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO but I do own the idea. Inspired by Daddy Hades and Prince of Olympus. Characters belong to Rick Riordan and Greek mythology (but of course they're real!)**

**Chapter 1 Hestia POV**

It was a cold night in New York as a storm similar to a blizzard ravaged the city. Because of this, there was more snow than usual on the floors of the previously snowless New York. People walked with their heads low, eager to reach home where their families were waiting in warmth. I smiled to myself. Home. The hearth. Reminded me that that was what I was meant to be. A loving person for everybody. But just then the angry howl of the wind cut through my daydreams.

As more and more people reached their houses, the streets of Manhattan cleared. Silent as ever, I slipped out from behind the tree that blocked my view from any pedestrians. While I sauntered down the snowy path, I took in the clothes that I had randomly thrown on this morning: _a simple_, plain _dress_; I _wore a scarf over _my _head so _I _looked like a pionner kid - like the ghost of _Little House on the Prairie; I had a tan coat over my dress and I had pulled the hood over my eight year old head. **(A/N: italics means words from TLO, pages 98-99)**

I continued to walk down the sidewalk when I heard a faint wail. It had sounded dangerously close to a baby wail. Curious, I tracked down the sound to an abandoned alley way. As I kept cautiously inching closer to the source of the sound, I finally reached it and found a small cardboard box at my feet. In the cardboard box was a crying baby, no more than 3-months-old, with the slightest tuft of jet-black hair covering his scalp. Though he had tears leaking out of his shut eyes, already dry tears marked lines down his face. A small sob escaped his lips, causing the child's face to redden some more. Snow was slightly layered on the thin blue blanket that had been wrapped around him. Feeling sympathy for the miniscule baby, I picked him up and let my natural fire warmth heat him up from the cold. As I continued to hold him, the snow disappeared and the baby sniffled then slowly stopped to cry. While I soothed the child to sleep, a small pieve of white paper caught my eye. Careful not to awaken the sleeping child in my arms, I bent down and picked up the note. In sloppy writing, possibly from a male, part of the note was written down. This part said, "You found the kid. Great, 'cause I don't want him. Do whatever you want with him. His name? Perseus. Perseus (Percy) Jackson." But I was more focused at the neater handwriting at the bottom; in ancient Greek, three words haunted me, "He is a half-blood."

**I hope that you like this story. I'll _try _to update as often as I can, but don't expect anything really fast.**

**Review!**


	2. But It's Better If You Do

**My Mommy Hestia, Chapter Er**

**Hellooooo... Thanks for the reviews on the first chapter... I guess...**

**Shout out to my first reviewer: tristanas1, for which I still don't understand how ho can be spelled anything like story...**

**Well, are you all ready? A lot of you guys were confused, I know, but don't fret! This next chapter will (hopefully) explain the answers to all of your questions.**

**3rd Person POV**

In the spare room, Perseus Jackson lay swaddled in a soft blanket, oblivious to the rage and anger he had caused.

Pain exploded in Sally's lower back as Gabe threw her bodily into the wall, slamming into the corner of the table. She winced inside as she felt the warm stickiness that trickled down her back but kept her face a mask of indifference. But her pulse pounded in her ears, filling the room, as if calling to Gabe. And he heard it.

"You _will_ obey me!" Gabe Ugliano snarled at her, spittle flying from his savage teeth. His breath stank of beer and dead animals. Sally braced herself for the beating that was sure to be ten times worse all due to a mere brown bottle.

"Never," She growled, her voice cracking. Gabe howled in frustration before throwing her against the wall. All oxygen in her body was knocked out with a whoosh. Sally struggled for air but just as quickly, an arm slammed against her throat, nearly choking her to death.

"You _will_ kill that beast!" Sally flushed in anger.

"He's my son!" Sally shrieked back. And Poseidon's, she thought. But she knew that to keep her baby alive, she needed to mask his strong Big-Three gods scent. And the only way was to ... to marry this bastard.

It was the fifth time this week they'd had this argument. Or, in this case, a fight, about killing Percy.

Out of frustration, Gabe growled and grabbed a fistful of her long hair. She winced as he pulled forward then smashed her head back into the wall. "Yes you will!" He bellowed. "We dont need your stupid kid. Your little Brain Boy has ADHD and dyslexia. He'll grow up unsuccessful. No wife..." He slammed her head again. "No diploma." Again. "And no life." Once more her head hit the wall. Plaster rained down from the ceiling. "Either you kill him, or I do it."

Sally could feel hot, sticky blood drip down her neck. The world was spinning and she was sure she had a concussion. She closed her eyes, trying to ignore the pain. _I'll die before he hurts you, Percy_, she vowed.

She wasn't expecting an answer. A clear, strong voice, full of pain, yelled No!

The earth shook. Thunder boomed.

_No, Sally_. The voice was calmer now, but bordered on the edge of hysteria. Do as he says.

Sally grimaced. _No, Poseidon. He's not going to hurt our son_.

_Please_, Poseidon almost begged. _I can't lose you too. I'll protect him, I will. Just do as he says_.

Sally sucked in a breath. "I'll make you a deal," she said aloud.

Gabe's pig eyes narrowed. "What kind of deal?"

"You let him live-"

"NO!" Gabe rained spittle. The earth rumbled in response, a tremor passing through the apartment.

"-but we'll give him away." Gabe thought about it and pressed on her throat harder, making her hack and cough.

"I decide where to drop him off." Sally nodded slightly and he dropped her onto the greasy floor. Gasping for air, she held a hand over her chest and slowly stood up.

Gabe produced a pen and paper from the folds of his shirt. Sally shuddered. He scrawled something on the paper, the passed the sheet to her. "Put this in a box with the kid. Then give the box to me. I know exactly where to put him."

She didn't reply.

Her bruised throat wracked with sobs as she walked clumsily into Percy's room. She chose a small cardboard box, big enough to fit him inside. Slowly, savoring every moment, she swaddled Percy in a blue blanket. Tears spilled from her eyes as she gently placed him in the box. Swerving her head around to check if Ugliano was anywhere nearby, she saw he wasn't and flinched at the sudden head movement.

Hastily, she grabbed a pen and wrote at the bottom of the note in ancient Greek, "He's a half-blood." She kissed his forehead and picked up the box, cradling it to her chest.

"Stay strong, Percy," Sally whispered, stroking her son's soft hair. "I'll come find you, wherever you are. I promise."

Gabe entered the room. "Are you done yet?" he snapped, snatching the box from her.

Her arms closed around Gabe, who pushed her roughly to the ground and pushed close the door.

Outside, the hum of the Camaro told Sally that Percy was gone. Gone. She still lay where Gabe had pushed her, whispering a promise that only she could hear.

"I'll find you, my son."

Rain blew in from the open window.

Strangely, some tasted like salt.

**Well, that's all! Thanks to my half beta MelodyOfMidnight for editing and making this a whole lot better than my version.**

**If you're the 17TH REVIEWER, I will try and add your name into the story somehow.**

**Review!**


	3. One Step Closer

**Chapter 3 One Step Closer **

**Disclaimer: I looked in the mirror, and i realized that I don't have kids. Percy Jackson rights belong to Rick Riordan. **

**Oh! And to an anonymus reviewer ALPHA! : Hello Jello! Thank you, your review was... nice? (I have a cruel heart. Cold and merciless. You can't make me feel loved.) And I am not a good author. My beta is. I basically come up with rough drafts. If you want great stories, check out MelodiOfMidnight. I don't really have that much of a life outside of the computer screen. I just read, read and read. But I do NOT spend every second of everyday staring at my computer. Honestly, Percy being scared and wimpy is just not him. Can somebody say OOC? I won't make him a badass but I won't make him wimpy either. I will try and make him normal. Thank you to the one and only, very special, MelodiOfMidnight for betaing! And congradulations to RomanceOnTheBrain for being our 17th reviewer! Story time? **

**3rd Person POV (oh what kind of perspective should I do from now?) **

**{before Hestia finds our dear Percy...} **

He grabbed Poseidon's shoulders and shoved him against the walls, the first eyes dazed and misty green, not their usually sky blue.  
"You must protect him," the first rasped. "YOU MUST!"  
The walls shook behind the victim and plaster rained from the ceiling.  
"He holds our destiny. If he dies, the Western Civilization dies with him!" he stated, his voice hoarse and tripled. He shook the victim's shoulders and screamed, "You musn't interfere! You musn't! Protect him! Destroy any others! You must keep him from any terrifying harm. That includes his mother's current husband. Find them, and PROTECT THEM!"  
The victim cringed away and asked, "Who? Whom is it that I must protect so badly?"  
The attacker's voice settled back down to one person as he said, "All will be discovered in time. Check on the ones you love." The attacker looked directly into the victim's eyes. "Our fate..."  
The attacked collapsed into the victim's arms, sweat beading down the both of their faces. Poseidon stared down at Apollo, who was previously just overshadowed by the one and only Oracle.

* * *

Poseidon peered into the glass windows of the Jackson's apartment, just in time to see an argument take place between to people. They screamed insults and protests at one another, the man clearly beating up the woman. Poseidon recognized the woman; she was one of his pure true loves. He flinched everytime she got hit. After so many days of just thinking about the rant that Oracle Apollo had shouted, Poseidon had narrowed down the possible loved ones of his to this family. As he watched the fight between his love, Sally Jackson, and a horrid man, his face slowly advanced towards the window with each breath he took. Eventually Poseidon found his ear pressed against the window, listening closely to the conversation that was exchanged.  
"Either you do it, or I do," the man growled.  
Poseidon's eyes filled with panic. He wouldn't – couldn't – disobey the Oracle. No! Poseidon thought fiercely, throwing his thoughts into Sally's. Calming down, he thought, No, Sally. Do as he says.  
Poseidon felt Sally's thoughts float into his head. No, Poseidon. He's not going to hurt our son.  
Please. I can't lose you too. I'll protect him, I will. Just do as he says. There was clear desperation hinted in his voice.  
Poseidon saw Sally's lips moving. As he pressed his ears against the glass, he heard Sally agree to Gabe's terms. Poseidon's face relaxed in relief and he smiled. He pulled away from the window to see Gabe drop Sally on the floor.  
Poseidon sauntered to the neighboring window and looked inside. Out of nowhere, he remembered that he could very much look like a suspicious stalker. Poseidon immediately straightened up and looked around him for any signs of other people. Finding no one around him, he figured that it must've just been his imagination. Looking into the new window in front of him, he saw a baby lying down on a bed, swaddled in a blanket. Suddenly, the fight in the kitchen died down and it was silent. Poseidon slid out of sight but still was able to see inside the room. The door burst open and the woman stumbled into the room. Closing the door behind her, Sally Jackson grasped for the baby and cradled him close to her. Muttering incomprehensive things to anyone else but her, Sally carefully placed the baby into to a cardboard box as if she were about to lay him in front of a stranger's doorstep.  
Once again the door flew open and hit the wall roughly. He said something and yanked the box out of Sally's hands. Sally fell to the floor and sobbed like there was no tomorrow.

* * *

**{3 years after that day...}**

While tending the flames, Hestia glanced up and peered at her "son," Percy. He repeatedly ran around the hearth, giggling with excitement, partially touching the flames every so often.

"Be careful, Percy." Though Hestia blessed Perseus so he could play with fire like her, she was still wary that perhaps her blessing would randomly shut down and he would burn himself. Hestia couldn't bear thinking about it. 3-year-old Percy stopped in his tracks and smiled at his mother. The said person smiled back at her "adopted" son. Together, the two lived up on Olympus, Hestia secretly hiding the fact that Percy lived with her. Although she wasn't an Olympian anymore, she was still more powerful than most, considering the fact that she was the first born God or Goddess of Rhea and Kronos. Therefore, with Hecate's advice, she had cast a spell on Percy so none of the Olympians could see him nor hear him.

Hestia was shook out of her everyday trance of tending the hearth when Percy shook her arm.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Percy pouted as his stomach growled.

Hestia smiled at her child gently and took his hand, "No problem, dear. We can get you some food."

Hera, who was currently walking by, heard Hestia's words. As she took a glance at her older sister, she saw that no one was talking to Hestia. Hera's brows furrowed as she asked, "Hestia, sister, are you feeling all right?"

Hestia merely peered up at her younger sister even though on the inside Hestia began to worry. Percy continued to complain, but she could not shush him without Hera seeing. "Why yes I am. Is there a problem?" Calm as ever, Hestia dealed with the situation. While on Olympus, Percy could not stray from the hearth, so he often got bored. Because of this, he had started to observe the Gods and take in their personality a bit.

Excited to show off his wisdom, he shook his mother's arm once more and said, "Mommy, that's the mean lady, right?" He had been quite observant, learning Poseidon's love for anything sea related, Zeus's bossy and strict manner, Hermes's speed and thievery, Athena's wits and smarts, Ares's violence, Aphrodite's ROMANCEONTHEBRAIN, and much more. Hestia couldn't help but smile a bit at her son's first thought of the Goddess standing in front of them.

"What?" Hera's brow furrowed once again. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Oh no, absolutely not, sister. But why are you here?"

"Well-" Hera started. But a sudden wail cut her off. A large wave of the ocean flew out of no where and drench the three and the hearth, putting out its flames.

Hera spit out water, opening and closing her mouth in absolute anger. "Wha-Wha?" Hera stuttered. "POSEIDON!"

Hestia quickly agreed, lying. Hastily, she said, "Oh yes... It does seem Lord Poseidon has drenched us in water. Must punish him, yes? Okay, well, I must go change my clothes." Hers shrieked in anger and stormed off, wringing water out of her hair. Hestia stared at the crying baby boy on her right. "Now Perseus, was that appropriate?"

Percy look down to the floor. "No, Mommy." he mumbled.

"Shall you ever do that again?" Hestia inquired.

"No, Mommy." Percy said sadly.

Hestia smiled. "Good. Now, what would prefer to eat? Do you want milk or pasta."

"I want pasta." Percy grinned eagerly.

"What kind?"

"The red one, Mommy!"

Hestia chuckled and picked him up. "Okay, we'll go get you your food now." Percy enthusiastically clapped his hands in reply. Hestia sighed. _You're growing up so quickly, Percy, _Hestia thought._ I have to enroll you into school soon._

* * *

**{4 Years Later}**

Percy glanced at his mother as she smiled a sad, watery smile at him. "You're growing up so fast." Hestia whispered. She ran a hand through Percy's hair. "I remember when you were just a baby. You're gonna be a big boy soon. What am I sayings? You are a big boy. But in a short amount of time you'll be a grown up."

Her son had a look of determination on his face. "I will make you proud, Mom. When I'm older, around 15, I'll be so successful you'll hear my name every where._ I promise."_

And strangely, when he uttered those words, they rang in his ears like a distant memory. **(A/N: past chapter Sally said those words.)**

**That's the end of this chapter. And whoa - 35 reviews? That's a lot. Thanks you guys. And what's with people being all "Well, it's my birthday today..." on fanfiction. Well, fine. Juusssssssst fine. If you wanted us to scream out happy birthday to you, you could've just been obvious instead of being all "I'm waiting. Hello?" Morons. I seriously don't see the point in saying that it's someone's birthday on fanfiction. We should just make you a sign and 10,000 balloons too, huh? **

**Lucky 42th reviewer! **

**Boo-bye**


	4. You And Me or Warning

**Chapter 4 You And Me/Warning**

**Hey guys! I just slept past 9, which is very, very rare so I'm hyper with extra energy. Anyways that's not important to any of you people out there so voila! New chapter!**

**Congratulations to our special 42nd reviewer Vivi007!**

**Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan.**

**And... Now I'm tired again. Poop.**

**I'm taking Percy Jackson or seaweed brain's review into consideration and am showing Percy training. So, here we go!**

**3rd POV**

Percy instinctively flinched and leaned away from the hearth as flames roared upwards ad licked at his face, thanks to the great firewood brand, VIVI007 **(A/N: pssht. That's not real, guys.)** Although Hestia cared about him enough to grant him firepowers, it was still his instinct to flinch away from these flames; fire was the enemy of water, and his biological father was Poseidon, God of the Sea.

Percy was only seven, and yet he was in the middle of fire training with Hestia, considering that she is the goddess of the hearth and its flames.

Toughening up, his brave soul made him actually lean forward, eventually taking a step into the flames. To Percy's surprise, the fire didn't burn him, didn't hurt him either; actually to him, it felt soothing, as if he were back home on the couch, eating his mother's cookies **(A/N: should Percy still have his addiction to blue food?).** The flames pressed against his skin, cool like a silk blanket, but warm like a fuzzy robe. Percy visibly relaxed and sighed in both contentment and agony; contentment at the soothing feeling of the flames and agony for the fear in the back of his mind about standing in a fire.

Inches away from the fire, Hestia peered into the flames watching her son soak in the roaring intense power of the hearth. As minutes passed, Percy became more and more adjusted to the heat and burning feeling of the fire flicking his skin. The power of the magic hearth seeped through his pores, contaminating him with a blessing of fire, enhancing the previous spell. Percy inhaled the fragrance of the burning wood deeply as the smoke drifted away from his feet.

After a long moment of Percy bathing in the flames, Hestia asked him to step out of the hearth. She kissed Percy's forehead and he felt a ripple of warmth travel through his body. Percy looked up at his mother and asked, "What was that, Mommy?"

Hestia closed her eyes and rested her lips on his hair. "Just my love, darling," she murmured, "just my love."

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"No, darling, what you want to do is control the fire inside of you and push it towards where you want it to be. Like this," Hestia closed her eyes and held out her hands, and soon enough a flame erupted from her palm and danced around. Percy's eyes widened and his mouth formed an "O."

Concentrating, Percy vainly attempted to copy her demonstration. Though his efforts were useless, he persisted in at least receiving a spark from his fingertip. In disbelief, Percy stared at his finger before shaking his head and returning back to Earth. A grin broke out on his face as more of his power was thrown into the wisp of fire, thus enlarging it. Looking at his mother, Percy excitedly exclaimed, "Look, Mommy, Look! I did it! I made a ball of fire!"

Hestia nodded in agreement and smiled back at her son, "Yes, sweetheart, yes you did. I'm so proud of you."

Hearing those words made Percy swell with pride and joy.

"All that's left now is to keep practicing, Percy," Hestia stated. Percy nodded and begun to practice some more, all the while his brow furrowing in concentration.

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**{One Year Later}**

Percy ran along the forest trees as the angry bellows of monsters chased him. Hestia stood on the borderline of the training arena, ready to pounce and kill if the monsters caught up and started to tear up her son. She watched as Percy gracefully and silently leapt across the crunchy, withered leaves, swiftly retrieving arrows from the quiver slung on his back. In the blink of an eye, each arrow Percy touched caught fire just as they were notched and released from the bow. However, only half of the arrows shot would reach their target.

As another arrow missed its target, Percy frowned, but the same look of had determination remained on his face. The flaming arrow narrowly missed the flesh of the monster, embedding itself into a tree instead. In a flash, the dryad hopped out of the flaming tree and started batting furiously at the flames. Hestia instantly noticed the lit up tree and concentrated on dimming ht fire. All of the fire flew off the tree and gathered into a ball. The dryad stumbled back in surprise and the fireball zoomed past her and hit Hestia in the chest. Hestia watched with wide eyes as the flames seemed to be absorbed by her skin.

"Hmm," Hestia pondered. "Learn something new everyday. I must teach this to Percy."

**{Minutes Later}**

Percy wiped sweat off his brow and walked towards his mother.

"You did better than the last time," Hestia mused. "You'll be a professional in no time. Just keep on practicing." Hestia then patted Percy down, searching for cuts, bruises, or broken bones. "Nothing's broken, right?" Hestia asked, immediately turning into a worried mother.

Percy smiled and shook his head, "Nope," he chirped.

Hestia nodded and grinned back at Percy.

_I better keep practicing, I stink, _Percy thought.

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**{11 Years Old}**

"Okay, Percy you did finish your English homework, correct?"

"Yes, Mom." The small child replied.

Percy handed his homework to Hestia. As she graded it, Percy worried about whether or not he did a good job. If he did a good job, there wouldn't be any homework the following night; if he did a bad job, his mother would scold him and give him that disappointed look that tore his heart apart.

When Hestia finished grading, she handed the homework packet back to her son. As soon as Percy saw his score, he couldn't help but let a smile break out on his face.

_94% A_

Leaping out of his chair, Percy kissed his mom on the cheek and danced around in her temple **(A/N: If she doesn't have one, can't we just pretend?)**. Hestia smiled as well, seeing that her son was radiating joy.

After Percy had completely settled and calmed down, Hestia begun the math portion of his education.

"Okay, so, Percy, you already memorized your basic times tables, right?" Hestia questioned.

"Yes," Percy replied.

"Good. Well, hopefully you weren't lying because now you have to take a surprise quiz!"

Percy moaned in misery.

"And after that I'm going to teach you the basics of division with decimals."

Percy groaned even louder.

Hestia shot him a joking Don't-Be-Like-That look. Then she grinned, kissing his head, she wished him good luck and walked out of the room, allowing him some peace and quiet to take his test.

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**{12 Years Old}**

Hestia and Percy stood outside the doors of Yancy Academy. Percy didn't want to leave the safe, warm arms of his mother, but he had to. Reluctantly, Percy pulled away from their first goodbye hug and stared up at his mother's face. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but she refused to let any fall. Closing her eyes and inhaling a deep, shuddering breath, Hestia composed herself enough to look down at her son. Ever since Hestia decided to take in Percy, she would take the form of a woman rather than a child; this way Percy felt he had a real mother.

Hestia gave Percy a tiny smile, "Remember your promise?" She whispered. "If you want to make me proud, do it here. Look, you've become a big boy, don't get into any fights now." Hestia laughed softly, now just letting out all her feelings, "Learn a lot, more than I could ever teach you, and stay calm; don't let your powers get out of control. I am so, so sorry I never taught you your water abilities. I know that Poseidon's your biological father, but I could never bring myself to tell him of you; in fear that he would steal you away from me. There was no way I could teach you how to use water, for I am fire, and fire only."

Percy shook his head, "But now I am both, Mom. Don't worry."

"Make me proud, Percy. I will see you again. Soon."

But strangely, Hestia felt that she was just lying through her teeth saying that.

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**{Somewhere Deep In The Underworld}**

Her maniacal laughter echoed down the deep pits of Tartarus. She wore a grimy tattered old chiton that used to be white. Her dead hair fell down her shoulders, killing her appearance. Skin pale as snow, bones as visible as a bright light in the dark. A withered flower crown coated in ash decorated her head.

She stared into an amputated eye, which sat on a pedestal, watching a scene unfold before her. A goddess and a young child stood side by side, both looking sad at leaving each other. Finally they tore apart. "Soon, my pretties," the cruel witch hissed, "I will have your hearts and your souls. You corpse grinded to dust and your brains fed to my pets. Soon... Watch out, dear demigod, for your mother's life is at risk, Death awaits, and it welcomes her with open arms."

And her evil cackle was heard above ground, as it echoed around in the ears of Hestia.

**Who thought it was spooky? I didn't. I actually really really enjoyed writing this in the dead of the night. The only part that freaked me was when I spelled welcome wrong and the auto correct went off. The computer lady said, "Welcome" and I freaked. But other than that... that's all for this chapter. I hope it's long enough.**

**Can anyone guess who the witch was? She's not a real witch though. It's just a substitute word for a not so nice word that is replaced by gun in the phrase "son of a gun." Anyway, hope you guys like it and review!**

**Lucky 65th reviewer!**

**Death awaits...**


	5. Funhouse

**Chapter 5 Funhouse**

**Sorry for the long wait. Didn't get started till, like, the end of May. So anyways, let's get to it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson. Im not THAT old yet.**

**3rd Person POV**

She just sat there on a casual day.

Eight year old Hestia rested her back on the tree trunk and dangled her legs over the edge of the branch. People strolled by her, minding their own business, barely noticing the little girl watching everyone.

Across the street stood a very important building. To any random person, they would think about it as a regular, safe school. However, to Hestia, it was practically a jail. Dangers lurked through the halls in plenty of different forms. Bullies would harm people just as well as monsters in disguise. Normally, she wouldn't care as much as she did now but just past those walls held a her own son.

Hestia ran over possible ideas of what could be happening to her son. Caught up in her thoughts, she didn't hear the soft footsteps behind her.

Just as no one heard her muffled shrieks as she was dragged away.

***MMH***

When Hestia awoke, the first thing she noticed were the rough ropes firmly sticking her to the steel chair she sat on. A flickering light bulb lit the eerie room, revealing blood splattered walls, grimy floors, and roaches crawling around everywhere. The cold air wrapped around her, and she shivered. Ever so loudly, the heavy, metal door creaked open, making Hestia's breath hitch. Voices murmured outside and the door was kicked open. Hestia released her breath and watched as the heat escaping her lips swirled mistily in the air. Brightness flooded the room and Hestia squinted, flinching away from the blinding light.

The door slammed shut and feet pounded the floor as it approached her. Hestia vainly attempted to flash out, only to find she couldn't. The person in front of her laughed a cold, bitter laugh.

"You're attempts are useless here," it said. Hestia couldn't tell whether the voice belonged to a boy or girl. "This building is strictly against god powers."

Pulling on her bonds, Hestia demanded, "What do you want from me?"

Raising an eyebrow - still standing in the shadows - the person questioned, "Isn't it obvious? You are Hestia, Goddess of the Home. All of you arrogant gods may think it's Hera, but really, you are the one who keeps the family together. You are the one who prevents them from ripping out each other's throats. And with you gone, one by one the gods and goddesses will turn against each other in white hot fury, and some may even turn to our side. They would be blinded by their anger so much, they would never realize that they should be helping each other fight us; but instead they would be fighting each other. Oh, joy! This is just like Greece's past. The gods fight one another and are thrown into their weakened state. Soon after, we will dominate them, taking advantage of their weakness. The world will be under Gaea's rule, and all of you shall perish!" The figure cackled evilly.

Hestia raised her eyebrows, "There is a better way to deal with this situation, is there not? Why not be satisfied with ruling your portion of the world? Can't there be another way to deal with this rather than violence?"

The person snorted. "Yes, of course there is. It's just, this way is more fun. And in the future the gods won't be there to stop us from ruling everything."

Frustrated, Hestia narrowed her eyes. "You really think you can get away with this?" She spat. "You have to be brainwashed to believe that the gods wouldn't put up a fight. Athena is smart enough to realize your stupid plan, and she will obviously warn the rest of our family."

The figure chuckled evilly, "Ahh... Dear Hestia, that is where you are so wrong. The gods would be to angry at her and everyone else to even listen to a word she says. Don't you know?"

Hestia yanked on her bonds once more. "And so what now," Hestia snarled. "Are you going to fly up to Olympus and persuade the gods to fight? Are you going to keep me so long they would send a rescue mission for me? Or are you so delusional that you think you can grill me for information?"

One side of the person's mouth quirked up in a tiny grin. Scoffing, the person said, "I didn't even think of that, smart one. Thanks for the tips. I think I will torture you. And now that your powers are extinguished while your being is held in this building, you will finally feel the pain of fire. Burn or tell, dearest. But soon enough, you will die. And Gaea shall dominate everyone."

Hestia's eyes flared and her breathing got heavier. Her voice was laced with anger as they pulled her away from the person, "Just wait till someone on Olympus notices my absence! You wil-"

"Bring her to the Steel Bed!" The figure barked. He or she focused their gaze on Hestia as she struggled against the torturers. It whispered, "Burn, Hestia, burn..."

***MMH***

Percy was miserable.

Sure he got average grades, but because of his mother teaching him ahead of time. Sure he had three meals per day. Sure he had finished his homework, but nothing was the same. His mom wasn't there to support him; she wasn't there to pick him up when he fell down. And just to make matters worse, he constantly felt a sharp pain in his gut, like something was warning him that someone was in trouble.

Percy rushed to his dorm after a long day of school. He wanted nothing more but to lay on his bed and sleep; he hoped his mother would contact him through a least one dream. It had been days since the last one, and he had gotten worried about his mother's safety.

"She's fine," he quietly assured himself. "Nothing bad happened to Mom..."

Arriving at his dorm, he opened the door and plopped down on his bunk, hastily tossing his backpack on the ground. Percy sighed and closed his eyes just as another wave of pain shot through his body. Grimacing, Percy groaned and curled up on his side.

Just after a short moment passed, the door flew open and Percy's room mate walked in. This was Grover, Percy's best friend and room mate. Percy always thought something was wrong with Grover, always suspected that Grover possibly knew of his secret; all because some accidents with fire here and there. But right when Grover walked through that door, he immediately knew something was wrong. Turning to Percy, he was least to say shocked to to see his friend curled up in agony. Walking up to his friend, Grover warily asked, "Hey, man, you all right?"

Percy groaned and turned over, looking up at his friend, "Just fine."

Grover nodded slowly, as if slowly taking in the information, "Y'know, Mr. Brunner said that we have to go to a field trip tomorrow?"

Percy then groaned remotely louder, as if anticipating bad things happening the next day.

**{tomorrow}**

"All right, everyone, on the bus!" Mr. Brunner commanded. Students piled up in the bus, running to sit next to best friends, stickinng feet out in the aisle, attempting to trip scrawny kids.

Percy scowled as he realized who chose to sit behind him - Nancy Bobofit, official number one enemy of Percy Jackson. This girl intended on making his life miserable, showing absolutely no remorse whenever she bullied him. Nancy snickered as she pelted Percy and Grover in the back of their heads with her sandwich. Percy sighed, this was going to be a long ride...

***MMH***

"Die, honey!" Mrs. Dodds snarled. (A/N: TLT, page 13)

She swung vainly at him again, shrieking in pain as her wings repeatedly caught fire.

"Not really feeling like giving Uncle Hades a visit right now!" Percy shouted. He shot another ball of fire at Mrs. Dodds who nimbly dodged it. Percy directed the fire back towards him, soon his best to not set the museum on fire. He repeatedly threw fire at her, praying to his mother that no one would enter the room.

Mrs. Dodds yelped again as another one of her wings caught fire. She swatted at it and flapped it around, only feeding the flames oxygen and letting them grow. Mrs. Dodds growled at her wing, uselessly putting out the fire. She cast one last glare at Percy, screaming as the flames consumed her.

Panting, Percy realized his first victory against his first monster. He silently congratulated himself, exiting the room while snatching a blue museum t-shirt from the gift shop. When he walked out the door without Mrs. Dodds, his eyes instantly flew to the new blonde woman standing near the school group. Eyeing the woman, he tossed a sopping wet Nancy the t-shirt. She gladly snatched it out of the air while sneering at Percy, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt." **(A/N: TLT, page 14)**

Percy assumed it was a trick of the Mist and went along with it. "She didn't. She was so nice to me, barely leaving me with a warning. Be glad I got you a stinkin' t-shirt anyways, Nancy."

In response, Nancy merely growled in anger and stormed away. Just then, Grover trotted up to Percy and exclaimed, "Where's Mrs. Dodds?"

Percy inwardly smirked. "What Mrs. Dodds? Grover, you're delusional. There's only been Mrs. Kerr."

Grover gulped nervously, "Uhh...-" Grover sighed. "Guess my cover's blown. Percy, follow me. I need to take you to talk to Mr. Brunner."

As they walked over to Mr. Brunner, who soon anxiously began to quietly explain the half-blood situation to a calm Percy, a blonde, scarred figure lingered in the shadows, watching Percy with hawk eyes. Slowly, he raised a scythe keychain to his lips and whispered, "The subject will soon leave for the camp. Prepare for the murder."

**OOOOH... Who's it? Huh? Anybody wanna guess? Pssht. It's obvious. Blonde. Scar. Hello? You'd have to be stupid not to figure that out. Well, maybe not stupid but just not that into PJO. And who can research to tell me about the Steel Bed torture?**

**Well, I'm lying in bed typing this on my phone and I'm tired. So please review. It would make my miserable day brighten up.**


	6. Shadow Of The Day

**Chapter 6**

**How goes it? I missed the large amount of reviews that I first had gotten when I started this story. Care to make a little girl happy enough to crack a smile with a truck load of reviews?**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**

**Warning (for all chapters, past and future ones): OOC, minor and major**

**3rd POV**

_BOOM!_

Thunder crashed as lightning struck its wrath on trees, the harsh wind and pouring rain pushing everything around.

"Run!" Grover shouted vainly, the wind drowning out his voice.

"What?" Percy yelled back, scrambling up the hill to Camp Half-Blood.

"Just-" Grover gestured with his hands for Percy to keep going up the hills.

"_ROOAAAR!_"

The loud noise shook the floor, stopping Percy and Grover in their tracks as they attempted to not trip and fall.

Heavy footsteps followed close behind the roar. The ground shook under the weight of the Minotaur, making the trees sway even more. Near the middle of the hill, Grover clumsily scrambled upwards towards Percy who was nearing the top. Terrified, Grover looked back at the monster with wide eyes and shakily took out his reed pipes. Anger flashed in the Minotaur's eyes as he swifty snatched Grover off the ground like a sack of potatoes. The reed pipes were knocked out of his hands as the Minotaur swatted the figure trembling in his grasp. Soon, Grover was passed out in fear, and he hung limply - as if he were dead.

When Percy glanced back, he had mistook Grover for dead instead of unconscious. "No!" He screamed. Percy turned around fully, furiously speeding at the monster. "Put him down!" Percy shouted as he let loose a huge flurry of fire balls. Unfortunately, with his fur soaked in water, the fire balls were useless against the Minotaur, extinguishing as soon as they made contact with his clinging fur. Percy hesitated; he didn't want to use up all of his energy. He realized that fire was useless in the pouring rain. Then, with determination burning in his eyes, he charged again; this time, using water. He allowed the fresh water to add a small amount of energy to his body as he awkwardly commanded the water to attack the Minotaur. Being trained in the fire department of Greek powers, he pretended that he was using fire to attack rather than water. Closing his eyes, Percy pictured two hands of water reaching out to grab the Minotaur and suffocate it until it dropped his friend. And sure enough, when Percy opened his eyes he saw exactly what he was imagining. Grover had fallen to the floor, groaning "food..." in his weak state as the Minotaur was straining under the pressure of the water. A bead of sweat dripped down from Percy's forehead, easily blending in with the rain. Percy had one water hand firmly grasping the Minotaur's arms and body while the other squeezed the life out of his neck. Within seconds, the Minotaur had bursted into a shower of golden dust that reeked of sulfer. Most of the dust had landed on Grover who started to violently hack as dust traveled down his throat. "What?" he hacked, confused. "Where's the monster?"

Percy slid down to his knees and helped his friend up. "Gone," Percy replied. "Apparently, Grover, in your sleep, you play your pipes," Percy lied. "You strangled him with vines and poof! He died."

Grover grinned in satisfaction. "Glad you weren't hurt, buddy o' mine." Grover clapped Percy on the back. "Your first monster! You are lucky you didn't have to kill it yourself. Now come on, we have to go see Chiron."

Grover trotted up the hill, and Percy gradually followed. Not my first, Grover, Percy thought. And definitely not my last.

***MMH***

"This-" Annabeth spread out her arms, "is the Hermes Cabin. This is where you'll be staying, Percy."

Percy glanced around the cabin in wonder; taking in all of the sights like clutter trash and sleeping bags on the floor, people aimlessly chatting, the little room for personal space. All in all, Percy hated it. He admired how Hermes wasn't hesitant to take in new kids, but it was too claustrophobic for his taste. He grew up in a temple - a cozy, empty temple - with just his mother; he was accustomed to empty space and room to walk around. Percy mentally raised an eyebrow before cautiously walking in; he knew from his years on Olypmus that Hermes and his children were masters at pick-pocketing people.

As Percy entered the room, one of the older campers had gotten up and approached him. Pretending to smile, the elder camper extended his arm before coldly saying, "Hello, Perc-perrrrrson," Luke drawled.

Percy mentally narrowed his eyes at the suspicious camper after sticking his own hand out and shaking the campers. "I'm Percy, you are?"

"Luke Castellan."

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Hey, Luke," she mumbled.

Luke smiled at her, "Hey kid."

"So," she continued. "Percy already introduced himself, but he's new and needs to stay here."

"Claimed or unclaimed?" Luke questioned.

"Unclaimed," Annabeth responded.

Upon hearing this, most of the cabin had groaned.

Luke coughed and walked to an empty spot on the floor, "This is where you'll be sleeping." Luke gestured to the floor. "Sorry, all the bunks are taken."

Percy shrugged, "S'okay." Turning to look at Annabeth, he asked, "Mind if I go to sleep? I'm exhausted, and the rain outside is making me even sleepier."

Annabeth nodded in understanding, "Sure, I'll give you the tour tomorrow. It's always hard for the new half-blood's first day." Then snapping her hood up, she ran out the door back to her cabin.

Luke returned after rummaging through the storage. He handed Percy a sleeping bag who said "Thanks" and dusted it off. Grabbing a pillow, he rested his head on it and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of his mother.

***MMH***

_Hestia screamed as she withered in pain._

_She laid on a steel bed that roasted over a fire, strapped down with metal cuffs._

_Guards stood along the walls, eyeing the victim and smirking._

_One person circled the table, remote in his hand. Hestia squeezed her eyes shut and screamed again. The figure circling the bed smirked before lowering the bed even closer to the fire. Hestia's skin was charred and glowed painfully red._

_"Oh, yes," the figure growled. "Burn or tell. Your choice."_

_Hestia attempted to curl up, but her bonds prevented her. She screeched in pain. "Never!" she gasped._

_The figure's lips curled into a snarl. "Then burn!" He shouted angrily. "Tell me where the boy is!"_

_"Not ever!" Hestia shrieked._

_"Die!" The figure screeched. He turn the flames even higher and hotter for seconds before dimming it completely. Only embers remained on the controlled fire, and only Hestia remained screaming in agony._

_A door opened and in stepped an old, half-dead witch. She glanced at Hestia groaning on the bed and merely dismissed the horrible matter. "Release her," she commanded._

_The figure quickly obeyed and clicked a button on the remote. "Yes, my lord," he said._

_All of the guards immediately placed their hands on their weapons, ready to attack if the tortured victim attempted to escape._

_"Dunk her in cold water," the witch ordered. "Then throw her back in her cell. We shall interrogate her later."_

_"Yes, my lord," the figure answered. Then, he stared up at the unmoving guards. "Get to it!" He exclaimed, gesturing to Hestia. "Hurry!"_

_Five guards swiftly shuffled forward and grabbed Hestia off the bed. She yelped when their hands roughly came in contact with her skin, but slowly relaxed as she fell into a deep slumber of pain._

***MMH***

Percy scrambled up in bed clutching his sleeping bag. "Mom!" He cried.

"What? What?" One of the Hermes campers rolled out of bed and hurried to Percy's side.

Sweat trailed down Percy's face as he messily rose from his sleeping bag and ran out of the cabin. The camper followed Percy, sprinting to keep up with Percy's fast run. When Percy reached the Big House, he furiously pounded the door screaming, "Chiron! Chiron!"

The camper laid a hand on Percy's shoulder, panting. Percy whirled around and glared at the camper. "What?" He shouted. "What do you want?"

"What's wrong?" The camper asked.

Percy's eyes scanned everything in sight, flying from one place to the next. Then, he sighed. "Nothing," Percy replied. "Bad dream."

The camper stared at him wearily. "Well, I'm Travis Stoll." Travis stuck his hand out. "Maybe you had a demigod dream. Those usually warn us about the dangerous upcoming future."

Percy grabbed Travis' hand and shook it. "What about the present?"

Travis shrugged. "Sometimes it is."

The door to the Big House opened and a sleepy Chiron stood there, yawning. "Yes, child?" He asked.

"Chiron!" Percy yelled frantically. "Emergency, Chiron, emergency!"

Chiron snapped wide awake. "What is it? Sorry I didn't answer earlier."

Travis snickered. "Were you busy?" Travis joked. "Taking the curlers out of your tail."

Percy glared at Travis as Chiron flushed a deep red. Chiron pushed Percy inside and told him to take a seat. Then he turned to Travis and ordered him to go back to the cabin and sleep.

"Now, Percy," Chiron said, wheeling around in his wheelchair, "tell me about your dream."

And so Percy did. He told of how Hestia burned, and of how the witch had a large mass of soldiers/guards.

When Percy finished rushing out his dream, he pleaded, "Please, oh please, Chiron, let me go on some sort of mission to rescue Hestia."

Chiron thought about it for a moment. "Percy, you just got to camp," Chiron explained softly. "You have no idea how to fight, or anything about defeating monsters. There is no way we can issue a quest with you in it."

Percy's eyes flared a bright red; like burning fire. "Chiron! Hestia - a _goddess _- is in danger! There is nothing that will prevent me from rescuing her, whether you like it or not."

And with that, Percy got up and stormed out of the Big House. He fingered the pen in his pocket; Chiron had given him Riptide after explaining about demigods at the museum. Percy ran to the beach and collapsed on the sand. He took out his pen and inspected it. Taking off the cap, a three foot long celestial bronze blade seared out of the place where the point of the pen should've been; and the pen grip transforming to a hilt of a sword. He drew a small flame in the sand, and watched as it came to life under his command. He played with the small spark, glancing at the shining stars every so often. They twinkled in a pattern, Percy realized. Percy looked down at the ember in his hand, then back up at the sky. He sighed, and shot the flame up in the air, letting it dance with the stars. It exploded into a mist of dull red sparks, contrasting from the dark blue night and the pure white stars.

Percy thought of his mother, and the nights they spent just pointing out constellations and laughing with each other. He felt tears well up in his eyes, and blinked them away.

"I'll find you," Percy promised. "If it's the last thing I do."

***MMH***

The gods all bickered and argued with each other furiously, ignoring Zeus's continuous and vain efforts to stop them.

"Silence!" Zeus boomed.

Dead quiet silence fell upon Olympus as the gods all took their thrones and sat quietly.

"Now," Zeus began, "We must discuss the matter at hand: Kronos. It seems he might me rising, and we must do something about it."

"I say we run him through with spears and swords and all of out powers!" Ares fiercely suggested, pounding his fist on the arm rest of his throne.

Athena cleared her throat, "Father, I believe that we should think out a plan, gather our evidence before doing anything harsh," here she threw a glare at Ares.

"Why don't we just listen to music, relax, and let nature take its course," Apollo added lazily. He twirled his ear phone wire around his finger, "I mean, there's no point of trying to stop him now, he obviously would have people guarding him as he rises from Tartarus, and Uncle Hades can't do anything about it."

"Childish brother," Artemis scolded. "We should do as Athena says, and what Ares says. But join them together. I think we should figure out his plan first, and then attack him before he becomes stronger."

"No!" Apollo protested. "Hephaestus, what are your thoughts."

"I don't care," he responded gruffly. "As long as he dies. Just ask Hestia, she's smart."

"Right!" Hera exclaimed. "Sister, what do you thi-" Hera's eyes widened and she frantically asked, "Where's Hestia?"

And none of the gods had an answer.

***MMH***

*Rise and shine, campers!" Luke hollered. "Breakfast in twenty!"

Campers scrambled around to gather their clothes and head off to the bathroom. Percy simply sat up, wide awake, ready to search for his mother. He threw on some new pants and a camp t-shirt then walked out the door. Luke stopped him on the way but Percy just said, "I'm going to go talk to Chiron."

Luke moved out of the way and allowed Percy to pass. Percy marched out the door and to the Athena cabin. He politely knocked, though on the inside he was panicking. Soon, Annabeth opened the door, shocked to see Percy there.

"Percy?" She asked in disbelief. Her eyebrows were raised so hgh they practically reached her hairline.

"Hi, Annabeth." Percy greeted. "Look, can I talk to you outside?"

Annabeth looked behind her to a boy. "Malcolm," she called. The said boy glanced up at her. "Watch everyone. I'm gonna step out for a minute."

Malcolm nodded and Annabeth shut the door behind her, leaning on it. "Yes?" She prompted.

Percy inhaled deeply. "I need you to go on a mission with me." He rushed.

Annabeth was surprised again. Chiron had told her he was going to issue a quest for the new demigod, but it seemed to her that either he already found out, or he wanted to go on a different quest himself.

Annabeth thought for a moment. "What's the quest?" She questioned.

"Hestia," Percy began. "Hestia's been captured by some evil force and are holding her hostage. We need to find her and bring her back to Olympus."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes, "There's no evil side at the moment. How would you know if there _is_ one?" She stressed. "Are _you_ on this evil side?"

Percy was offended, "I would never. They have my mot- my father's relative," he covered. He held a calm expression on the outside, but on the inside he was freaking out.

"Your mother?" Annabeth asked. "I thought that your godly parent was your father."

"Well, yes," Percy said, "but they also took my mother."

"Oh," Annabeth replied. "Well, if they took your mother, you would obviously want her back, since she had cared for you all these years. I guess I will go on the quest, you'd need someone who can fight really well and who knows a lot. Okay, I'll ask Chiron and he'll probably let you go on the quest tomorrow. And if we're lucky: today."

Percy let out a sigh of relief. He wanted to ask Luke first, but didn't really trust him. So he asked hte next person he could trust the most at the camp: Annabeth. He was about to thank Annabeth when Chiron trotted up to the both of them and said "Both of you, i must talk to you both at the Big House. Quickly now!"

Percy and Annabeth hopped onto Chiron's back, and he rode away to the big, blue house. Dropping them off, he seated himself into his magical wheelchair.

"Now, you two," Chiron started, "There is a horrible situation up on Olympus. The gods recently noticed that Hestia went missing-"

Percy, infuriated, pushed back his chair and stood up, slamming the palms of his hands on the table. "They _just_ noticed?" He demanded. "Hestia is the _best_ goddess out there! How can they _just_ notice? That's nuts! See, Chiron? See? I told you Hestia was in danger, and you refused to believe me! Quest?" Percy practically yelled.

Chiron nodded calmly. "Yes, Percy," Chiron agreed, "a quest is in need. Pick two _trained_ companions and you may go after lunch. They should teach you the basics of sword fighting."

"Okay, Annabeth and..." Percy wondered. Grover was scrawny and wasn't much use, but he was Percy's best friend. He didn't trust anyone else much, except for Annabeth. To Percy, Annabeth ha a special air around her that instantly made him trust her.

"Grover," Percy finished.

Chiron had his eyebrows raised. "Okay then," Chiron said. "Breakfast should start soon, go get ready you two. I'll have Luke teach you since Annabeth uses a knife and Grover his reed pipes."

So Annabeth and Percy walked away to go to the bathroom in order to change, ready for the challenging day ahead of them to start.

**So how was that? Long? Boring? Stupid and completely pointless? I don't know, so you tell me. Please?**

**So who's on summer vacation? My school just ended yesterday and I spent three hours writing just this chapter. I think its pretty long (3,000! Usually its 1,000). So pretty pwease with a cherry on the chop review?**

**Reviews?**


	7. Get Out Alive

**Chapter 7**  
**Hey, guys. So listen, I probably won't update as fast as I did before. Yes, school just got out for me, but my summer school started three days after my regular school ended. Then after that, I only have one week of free summer time before regular school resumes again. I know, sucks. But that's besides the point. Summer school is really tough, with tests everyday, a new packet of homework everday, and novels that we are forced to read. And if you get below 75% on a test, you get a demerit/detention. And with too many demerits, bad things happen. Poo. I'm studying and not really writing. In fact, I think I only write in bed and in the car (I use my phone to write and post chapters). So, sorry if updates aren't coming as fast as you would like, but I'm trying, I really am.**  
**Also, we passed 100 reviews! Whoo! An only from six chapters! I think the 100th reviewer was my sister, fatbublebunny132, when I specified that I did NOT want her reviewing my stories. *sigh* oh well. But thank you guys and gals, so much. Here's the next chapter.**

**QUICK QUESTION: Should I write Percy doing ALL of the quests? Like in SoM, and TTC, etc?**  
**Important: I'm hopping around in the quest, you all have already read it, I feel weird copying Rick Riordan.**

**3rd Person POV**  
Sweat beaded Percy's forehead as he continued to block and attack Luke's fierce slashes in fake clumsiness.  
Luke lunged to stab Percy's chest, but Percy just scrambled out of the way - in a fake manner of course.  
Luke sighed "Percy," He said, "you have a sword, block with it. You can't just jump out of the way like that. Protect yourself." He sighed again, then continued, "I think we should take a break."  
Luke strolled over to the ice cooler he had set out for later classes and grabbed two cold bottles. Percy watched as Luke swallowed a big gulp, then poured the rest on his head. Percy was about to do the same, but as a few droplets touched his head, he heard his mother's voice in his head: NO CHEATING.  
Percy closed his eyes and sighed, then drank all the water.  
"Why don't you get some rest?" Luke offered. "It's almost sunrise and you've got a quest to do today. Plus, you'll need all the energy you can get."  
Percy nodded and trudged off to ther Hermes cabin while Luke cleaned up in the arena. He flopped onto his sleeping bag and closed his eyes.  
***MMH***  
When Percy woke up later, the sun was up and everyone was staring at him, some hovering over his sleeping bag.  
"Ahh!" Percy yelled, surprised.  
The kids surrounding the sleeping bag backed off, mumbling their apologies.  
Percy say up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "What's going on?" He slurred, still half asleep.  
"It's time to go to breakfast." Travis responded.  
"Oh." Percy said. He realized he was still in his jeans and camp t-shirt from earlier when he was training. Percy had already brushed his teeth so he stood up and walked to the end of the line.  
The Hermes cabin marched off to the dining hall, single-file. All of them sat on the benches, squished and grumbling as they shoved each other for personal space. Percy was nearly knocked off the bench when a hard shove traveled through all the campers. Annoyed, Percy muttered incoherent, rude words under his breath until his food arrived.  
He stared in wonder as the other campers stood to throw food into a fire. Following the other campers, Luke explained to him that they sacrificed parts of their meals to the gods as an offering. Percy inwardly shrugged and participated. But when it was his turn to throw in his food, he thought of his mother, and prayed to the gods that she would make it out okay. That he would find her and they could live happily again on Olympus with him guarding her. Then suddenly, in the midst of his praying, everyone gasped and pointed above his head. Percy glanced up and was shocked beyond belief. He saw a blue trident swirling in water. It glowed with a strong bluish-green aura. Then the trident abruptly stopped rotating and faded away. A sharp, blinding flame took its place, glowing such a bright red everyone averted their eyes. Holographic pieces of wood showered down on the flames, enlarging it. Just as before, it stopped spinning and disappeared, the trident taking its place. A split second later, the trident flashed away and the flames took place. Both holograms flickered back and forth, as if fighting to see who would be able to hover above the demigod.  
Percy knew what this meant. Annabeth had explained claiming and the hologram that always appeared. He knew that his father and mother were fighting to claim Percy, but eventually, they joined together. A blue trident that was set aflame crowned Percy's head, and all the other demigods gawked at the symbol in shocked silence.  
"All hail Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses." Chiron said.  
The red flames burned brighter, as if warning Chiron to acknowledge it's presence.  
Chiron knelt with terror evident in his eyes. "All hail Perseus Jackson, also the son of a god or goddess, as the symbol is unknown."  
The blinding brightness of the flames dimmed, and Chiron sighed in relief. All the half-bloods knelt and bowed their heads to the demigod, son of two gods.  
***MMH***  
"Close your eyes and drop!" Annabeth shouted.  
Percy and Grover obeyed as Medusa snarled and her snakes hissed.  
Medusa's hand flew out and snatched Percy's wrist as he attempted to scramble away from her.  
"Stay with me," Medusa purred. "Stay with me, Perseus, just like your daddy. All you have to do is look up into my eyes." Percy felt compelled to obey. "Forget all of your problems, like your mother's disappearance, and stay with me."  
In seconds, all traced of ever wanting to be with Medusa vanished. The mention of his mother's disappearance was enough to jolt Percy back to reality. White-hot fury bubbled up inside of Percy, and his lips curled into a snarl.  
"Don't speak of my mother!" Percy churlishly shouted. He ripped his grasp away from Medusa and blindly threw a punch in her direction. Unfortunately for Percy, his aim was remotely off and Medusa was able to catch his fist in her hand. Angrily, he forced his fist to burn without flames. As a result, Medusa shrieked in pain and cradled her burnt hand.  
"Percy, duck!" Grover yelled. Percy sensed Grover behind him and dropped to the floor as Grover clubbed Medusa on his flying shoes. Enraged, Medusa roared, clawing at Grover, Percy groping around for his fallen sword.  
Behind the distracted Medusa, Annabeth slowly and silently crept up with her knife ready to attack. When Annabeth was in leaping distance, she jumped on Medusa's back and shut her eyes tight. Then, she wrenched her knife through Medusa's neck, feeling the gooey blood of the gorgon splatter against her face.  
"Ew," Annabeth said, spitting her hair out of her mouth along with a bit of gorgon blood. Annabeth gingerly perched Medusa's sunglasses back upon her face before saying, "You can open your eyes now, guys."  
Relieved, the boys opened their eyes, only to freak out when they saw Medusa staring at them.  
"Gross," Grover stated. Percy nodded in agreement, turning a light shade of green. Turning around, Percy spotted a plastic bag on a statue and snatched it off.  
"Sorry," Percy said when the head rolled off the statue, shattering on the pavement.  
Percy scooped the head in the bag and handed it to Annabeth.  
"I'm gonna look around a bit, okay?" Percy left without an answer and entered the diner once again. He heard the droning of the deep frier and ventured deeper into the private studies. Glancing around, he found an open register which he popped open. Percy had been surprised when he found a bag of golden drachmas, promptly shoving them into his pant pocket. He found a white cardboard box along with a pad of paper and a pen. An idea clicked in Percy's head and he scrawled the address for Olympus on one piece of paper. He taped the paper onto the box, and brought it outside to his friends.  
"Mind putting the head in the box for me?" Percy asked.  
Annabeth shrugged and placed the head in. Percy grabbed a couple drachmas from his pocket and put it on top of the box. Soon, the box disappeared, carried away by Hermes.  
A moment is uncomfortable silence passed before Annabeth cleared her throat and said, "Let's keep moving. Grab some food and any USEFUL supplies that you see; then we'll hit the road."  
And they did just that.  
***MMH***  
"You guys go on ahead, I'll take the next ride down."  
Percy stayed on the top as his friends warily took the elevator back down to the floor. Apparently, the elevator had a limit and couldn't fit Percy. Annabeth and Grover tried to protest and stay with him for safety precautions, but Percy was as stubborn as Athena.  
"Percy, are you sure?"  
"Yeah, Perce," Grover agreed. "There's something wrong here."  
Percy shook his head in amusement, "Yes, I'm positive. I can fend for myself. Plus, it's not like there are any-" Percy glanced around and whispered, "-you-know-whats around here."  
"Sir," the park ranged interuppted, "I'm afraid that you and your friends are stalling everyone else. Please make your decision soon."  
"Go," Percy insisted.  
_Grover and Annabeth both looked nervous, but they let the elevator door slide shut. Their car disappeared down the ramp.*_  
Percy eyed the fat lady in the corner who stood holding her pet Chihuahua in her arms. She talked to it, remotely out of Percy's hearing range, preventing him from eavesdropping.  
Suddenly, the Chihuahua started growling and barking at Percy. Percy glanced at the dog and warily took a step away.  
_"Well, son," the fat lady sighed. "If you insist."_  
_The Chihuahua barked louder, and with each bark, it grew. First to the size of a Doberman, then to a lion. The bark became a roar.^_  
Percy was quick to react and yanked Riptide out of his pocket. His thumb instinctively trailed over the engrabed Greek letters ANAKLUMOS before he ripped the cap off= and it morphed into a sword.  
Behind him, Percy heard a little boy scream in terror, and his parents scurrying around to protect him. For some strange reason, the shrieks emanating from the child enraged Percy. He didn't want to see an innocent family hurt; especially the mother. A sharp, cold pain struck Percy's heart as he thought about his mother. Then he thought, _you foul creature_, as he snarled at it,_ you're part of the crew who's out to kill my mother!_  
His furious thoughts took over his mind as he slashed and hacked at the beast. Loud, blood-curdling roars erupted from its mouth as it vainly blocked Percy's attacks. The young demigod spread his palm to the monster and a white-hot flame bursted out, slamming the monster into the wall.  
The Chimera howled in fury, and swung its tail around the smack the half-blood. Percy's eyes widened as he saw the tail coming, hastily jumping at the last second, barely dodging it as he felt his toes brush the sharp spikes. Once he landed - in a crouch -, he sprung up and leaped towards the Chimera. He landed on its back, scrambling up towards the head.  
"Good-" Percy stabbed the sword downwards into the Chimera's skull, "-bye!"  
Percy heard Echidna shriek in anger and pain. He looked over in curiosity and saw her melting into the wind, soon disappearing from sight.  
Short breaths puffed out of Percy's mouth as he slouched behind his sword, watching golden sand slowly seep out of the wound, gathering in a clump. The demigod watched in fascination as the dust particles floated up in the air, forming a shape. Percy saw a coffin, a golden one, resting as one bright light shone upon it. A dark laugh thundered from the coffin, and a steely voice whispered "Soon..." as it was carried away by the wind.  
**(A/N: See, I was going to end it here, but every chapter needs a Hestia scene.)**  
***MMH***  
"NO! STOP! PLEASE!"  
Hestia's body racked with sobs as teardrops raced down her cheeks.  
"NO!" She sobbed. "PLEASE!"  
Hecate tapped her fingers together as she circled the crying goddess. "Hmm..." Hecate pondered. "It seems that the victim still resists giving information when in pain, yet, when experiencing a mere hallucination, she pleads for help."  
Hestia weeped. "Please, make it stop!" She cried. "I'll do anything, just don't hurt my baby!" Tears poured down her face as sobs escaped her lips.  
This was when Hecate spun around, and stared at Hestia. "Oh, reall-"  
"Hecate?" Hestia spluttered?  
"What?"  
"I thought you were on the gods' side..."  
"Not anymore. Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted-" here she threw a glare in Hestia's direction. "-I was saying, 'oh, really?'"  
Hestia fearfully nodded.  
"Anything?"  
She nodded again.  
"Then tell me... What will it take for the Olympians to fall apart?"  
Hestia sniffed and kept her mouth shut.  
Red filled Hecate's vision as her face turned a dark shade of pink. "Liar!" Hecate screamed, back-handing Hestia with all the strength she had.  
Hestia's head snapped to the side, and she felt her cheek swelling.  
"Face this pain, then tell me the answer to my QUESTION!" Hecate snarled.  
She raised her hand and spat out a spell, causing Hestia's eyes to glaze over and force her into a hallucination.

* * *

_Hestia watched helplessly as her son's agonizing screams echoed in the arena, taunting her, mocking her, whispering to her._  
_Jeers came from the audience; they saw the little boy get tortured, and the mother who just stood untethered, not moving to help her son._  
_"Look what she's caused..."_  
_"...doesn't belong here on earth..."_  
_"Shouldn't be alive..."_  
_"Let's... own son... tortured..."_  
_"...death at midnight..."_  
_The boy's bloody and bruised body hung limply from the post he was strapped to. His shirt was torn and blood-stained._  
_"Mom..." he whispered, gazing directly into her eyes._  
_"Percy!" She called, her own voice sounding dull and nonexistent to even herself._  
_The guards standing near Percy's post shouted._  
_"You are not to talk!" One ordered._  
_As punishment, one soldier brought down a whip on Percy's back. It all happened slowly in Hestia's eyes. She saw the sparks showering off of the whip; the contact of the harsh, leather strands on his skin; the sound of the miniscule sonic boom that the whip delivered. But completely worse to Hestia: Percy's reaction. He barely flinched as it made contact, tearing through the skin, blood instantly spewing from the multiple wounds. As the soldier brought the whip down for another strike, Percy stared deep into his mother's eyes, rasping, "Why, mother? Why are you so heartless? Am I really so valueless? Do you hate me? Why do you let them do this to me, mother? Why...? Why...? Why..."_  
_Percy's voice faded away from Hestia's ears, and she screamed his name._  
_Percy's eyes began to close in pain, and his soft voice made it nearly impossible for Hestia to decipher his words._  
_But when she did, she heard, "You disgust me..."_  
_"I'm sorry..." Hestia whispered, tears falling down her face, salty drops darkening the sand under her feet._  
_But Percy did not hear as he slipped into unconsciousness, blood dripping on to the floor._  
_"I'm sorry..."_  
**HOLY MACARONI AND KETCHUP!**  
**Here we go!**  
***Quote from The Lighting Thief, by Rick Riordan, page 206**  
**^Quote from The Lighting Thief, by Rick Riordan, page 207**  
**= okay, so lots of Fanfictioners think it's click instead of uncap! But it's actually uncap. The click is from the movie, which could've confused those who watch movies before reading the books. So, believe whatever it is that you fans believe, but I'm sticking to uncap.**  
**UNCAP, FOREVER!**  
**3,017 words!  
If you're with me, say "Banana boats" in your review.**  
**I am now testing an experiment to see who actually reads author's note. We people write this stuff for a reason? So if you're reading this author's note, I will dedicate my next chapter to all of yous, and say in your review "hand toes."**  
**Aren't you proud of me, young ducklings? I stayed up for two hours (midnight - 2 AM) just writing this chapter for you guys. Can we make it to 127 reviews? Sure we can! That's just... 17 reviews. Not so bad compared to other authors, eh?**  
**Please review, I'd appreciate it, and thanks for reading!**


	8. I Will Not Bow

**Chapter 8 I Will Not Bow**

**Alright, so…**

**I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!**

**171 reviews? That's like, 44 **_**extra **_**reviews! No way! Dudes… err… and dudettes. We TOTALLY exceeded my goal and my expectations of review amounts. I don't believe it, but I t's right there in front of my fricken face!**

**AHHHH!**

**Now, most of you guys said "banana boats" in your review, and I appreciate you reading my pointless author's note, but I said that I would dedicate this chapter to people to those who said "hand toes." See the word-play I used? Eh? Eh?**

**So, to those who said "hand toes," I hereby dedicate this chapter to the following people:**

**Daughter of the Earthshaker**

**Gimarkley2013**

**She with the hazel eyez**

**3214sammy**

**Winter's Soul**

**Anonymous**

**Hades-Little-Girl-Mela**

**Anonymous**

**Anonymous**

**Adept137**

**WittyNinja336**

**corpse blood**

**Anonymous**

**viet girl14**

**christianjmans**

**Guest**

**Guest**

**Story time?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson, heck I don't own the song titles that I use for chapter titles.**

**OH! And for GodOfBattle (who said: BANANA BOATS :D hi) HEY THERE! HI! THANKS FOR REVIEWING!**

**3rd Person POV**

Percy and his friends grinned in success as they arrived at the small diner. Though covered in grime, dirt and twigs stuffed in their hair, soot on every inch of fabric that they called clothes, the three weren't even acknowledged as they entered. They sat down at a booth in the gleaming chrome diner, waiting for a waiter or waitress to come up to them.

The trio discussed possibilities of who captured Hestia in specific until the waitress approached them. "Do you kids even have money to pay us?" She asked in a flat tone.

"Can we order dinner?" Percy tried.

"Money?" The lady repeated.

Percy shrugged. "Worth a shot."

"Okay," Annabeth said, "listen, we mi-"

A large, baby elephant sized motorcycle revved up to the diner, shooting a tremor through the building. _Everyone in the diner stopped talking and stared at the motorcycle._

_The motorcycle's headlight glared red. Its gas tank had flames painted on it, and a shotgun holster riveted to either side, complete with shotguns. The seat was leather – but leather that looked like Caucasian human skin.*_

The man who sat on top of the bike was no ordinary man; he was Ares, god of war. He wore a red muscle shirt along with black jeans and a black leather duster, accompanied with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh.

Red shades were propped on his nose, his cruel, brutal – but handsome – face twisted into a terrifying snarl. Ares had an oily black crew cut and scars decorating his cheeks.

As Ares pushed open the door, the customers, minus the demigods, all stood, as if hypnotized, a dry, hot wind brushing past the people. Ares waved his hand dismissively, and all of the standing customers promptly took a seat.

The waitress serving the trio of demigods blinked before Ares slid in their booth, taking up most the room and squashing Annabeth against the window.

"I'll pay," Ares grunted. He nodded at the waitress and she sauntered away towards the kitchen.

"So, kid," Ares started, looking at Percy, "I hear you're ol' Seaweed's son."

Percy nodded.

"But," Ares continued, "there's another god tryin' to claim you, right?"

Percy nodded, he knew where this was headed, and could feel anger building up inside of him. Percy knew it was Ares's presence causing him to be furious, but he didn't want to let the anger go. It was an intoxicating, addictive fire that burned inside of him, so warmly, yet so coldly.

"Anyways, I need you to do me a favor," Ares demanded. "I accidentally abandoned my shield at a water park during a… date with my girlfriend, and since you've got special water powers, I figured you and your little companions could snatch it for me."

Percy subconsciously glared at Ares, little flames literally dancing around his sea green eyes. Ares obviously glared back - he didn't like the feeling of someone attempting to threaten him.

The waitress approached the booth they sat at, sensing the tension in the air. She awkwardly cleared her throat and set down the food. Ares glanced in her direction, grunted, and then tossed a golden drachma at her. The light reflected off of the coin as the waitress caught it in surprise.

Her eyes were wide as she said, "Um, sir, sorry to disappoint you, but we don't excep-"

Ares glared at her and whipped out his hunting knife. He started nonchalantly picking the dirt from under his nails, scowling and glaring viciously at the waitress. "You were saying?" Ares questioned.

"N-Nothing," the waitress stammered. She quickly walked away, explaining to her frustrated boss about why she had a coin.

Percy stared Ares down while his friends devoured their food in minutes. Ares peeked up at Percy under a raised eyebrow and said, "What?"

"You can't just threaten people like that for no reason," Percy insisted. "It's not right, and you need to accustom to the mortal world before you go flaunting your golden drachmas."

Ares brushed it off. "Sure, but I'm a god, I get to do these things," Ares snarled.

"Why don't you just stop?" Percy snapped back.

"_Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?" He leaned forward. "Or maybe you only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you." `_

Percy curled his fingers into a fist and clenched his teeth. "I have no father," Percy hissed. "Only a mother. If you guarantee her safety on Olympus, maybe I'll give you back your little toy."

Ares took off his sunglasses, revealing his eye sockets which were basically flames burning in place of an eyeball. They burned more ferociously as Percy back-talked the god, and Ares felt more tempted to just beat the kid up. Percy restrained himself and listened closely to what Percy was saying.

Ares narrowed his eyes to slits. "Who's your mother? Thought you were Poseidon's kid," Ares stated.

Percy calmed a bit and relaxed his jaw. "I am Poseidon's son," Percy started, "but I am also the adopted son of another god—namely a goddess." Percy took a breath. "She's been kidnapped, and when we get her back, you have to protect her, or else my father with crush you," Percy threatened.

Ares raised his hands in the universal surrender position. "Alright," he sighed. "I swear on the River Styx that if you get me my shield, I'll protect your mother." Thunder boomed in the dry distance and customers stared in shock at the sky, seeing as it was cloudless.

Percy nodded in approval as Grover and Annabeth finished their meals. Percy's stomach rumbled and he realized that he never ate his meal. He quickly scarfed it down, savoring each bite, as Ares summarized their conversation to the other two quest members.

"So," Ares said, "who's this mother of yours?"

Percy frowned, "I did say she was the one who was kidnapped, didn't I?"

Ares gawked at Percy in disbelief. Did he really just say what I think he said, Ares thought. Impossible!

"Wait, no, hold up," Ares said. He closed his eyes for a few seconds then opened them again. "Do you mean Hestia? Hestia, the virgin goddess, is your mother?"

"Adopted mother," Percy corrected. "But yes, she is. Why?" Percy smirked. "Hard time believing so?"

"Yes!" Ares exclaimed. "How did we not know about this?"

"Well…" Percy drawled, "It was a bit obvious. The whole fire versus water thing at my claiming to the mother and father god parent, and then again, I was secretly raised on Olympus besides you oblivious people."

Thunder boomed outside dangerously.

Worry filled Annabeth's eyes and Grover began to gnaw on his wax paper. "Percy," Annabeth said, "watch what you say, alright?"

Percy saw the deep concern in her eyes and relaxed a bit. He took a deep breath and nodded. "Where's your shield, LORD Ares?" He asked, putting an emphasis on "Lord".

"A water park," Ares responded gruffly. "Waterland to be exact."

"Waterland?" Annabeth asked incredulously. "Didn't that place get abandoned like, a long time ago?"

Ares scrunched his nose and said, "I don't know, it's Athena's job to know these useless things, not mine."

He glared at each of us harshly before saying, "I'll meet you back here when you get the shield. When I get it back, I'll get you guys a ride west. But for now, I'm gone."

After that, Ares flashed away so quickly the demigods barely had time to register he disappeared. Percy felt as if he had fainted, or fallen into a trance. Blinking, Percy turned to his friends and coughed.

"Well," Annabeth commented. "We should probably get that shield. That way we get a ride to DOA Recording Studios."

Percy sighed. "Yeah, I guess we have no choice. Come on, Grover, finish your wax paper, we have to visit a water park."

**MMH**

Percy and his quest companions arrived at Waterland to find the main gate padlocked then coated with barbed wire. A fence surrounded the park, and the quest members peered through the huge holes to see inside here water park. Creaking above them was a sign that had previously said WATERLAND had lost a few letters, making the sign say WAT R A D. They had reached the water park at dusk, and the setting sun had cast an ominous shadow over the dry waterslides, tubes, and pipes.

Percy knew from his mythology studies that Ares's girlfriend was Aphrodite, but he was oblivious to why Ares had brought her here for a date.

"Why here?" Percy asked bluntly.

Annabeth gave him an "are-you-kidding-me?" look. "Hephaestus—or Aphrodite's husband—had gotten enraged at the thought of his wife dating another god. Therefore he sets out to embarrass them. He rigs godly traps in places he thinks that they would go for a date. So the couple go to secret places where they think he won't bother them. Now let's get over this fence and grab that shield."

Annabeth latches herself on the fence and bounced on her toes before pushing upwards to climb. Grover shouted, "Maia!" and his magic shoes sprouted wings for him. Grover began to fly over the fence as Percy climbed it. All three Greeks landed skillfully on the floor. One quick look at each other and they began to walk off towards the love rides.

Dead silence filled the air and the only sounds heard were the steps of shoes quietly coming in contact with the floor.

As the trio passed a souvenir shop, Annabeth stopped and walked straight inside. Percy and Grover were quick to follow only to see pencils, snow globes, post cards, and—

"Clothes," Annabeth breathed. "Fresh, clean clothes."

Percy frowned. "Annabeth, you can't just—"

"Watch me."

And with that, Annabeth snatched a handful of clothing and marched off into the dressing rooms. She appeared minutes later, decked out in flower-print shorts, a big red T-shirt, surf shoes, and a backpack slung over her back. Of course, all were labeled with Waterland's logo.

Grover and Percy looked at each other and Grover shrugged. "What the heck," he said.

Both boys copied Annabeth's movements and soon they were all wearing Waterland clothing.

After walking around some more, the three stumbled upon an empty pool that looked like a bowl, at least fifty yards across. Twelve bronze Cupid statues stood along the rim of the bowl, ready to shoot with their bows. A sign hung above the ride, and it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!

Annabeth traced her finger over the base of the nearest Cupid statue.

"Eta," she murmured. "A Greek letter." She looked up at her friends. "This might be a trap."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Grover," Percy looked over at his best friend. "Do you smell any monsters?"

Grover sniffed the air. "No."

"Really?"

"Yes," Grover assured.

"Okay," Percy took a deep breath. "I'm going down there."

"I'll go with you," Grover immediately said, sounding unenthusiastically.

"No," Percy refused. "I want you to stay up here in case I need some help. You have the flying shoes—you're our Red Baron, the flying ace, remember? If I need back up, I'm counting on you, man."

Grover nodded looking relieved.

Percy began to climb down the side of the bowl. He glanced at Annabeth and said, "Well, I'm going to need someone to help me."

Annabeth flushed a deep red. "You want me to go in there with you?" She asked in a stunned tone.

"No, I want a lion to go with me," Percy retorted in a sarcastic tone. "Yes, I want you to come with me!"

He continued to venture down the bowl as Annabeth sighed and slid down the smooth side.

"Now what?" Percy asked.

Annabeth's hand twitched in a near face palm and she pointed at a rundown cup-like seat. Inside it held Ares's shield and a scarf.

Annabeth and Percy walked closer to the items, hands on their weapons the entire time.

_SCUTTLE!_

The duo whipped around and unsheathed their weapons. After scanning every inch of the bowl, they warily turned back around and faced the shield. Percy curiously picked up the scarf and sniffed it. Immediately, a wave of nausea hit Percy and he dropped the scarf.

Annabeth picked it up and inspected it. "Belongs to Aphrodite," she muttered. "Of course. Love magic. Too strong right now."

Annabeth shoved the scarf in her back pocket while Percy shook his head and looked around. Everything looked normal.

"Come on, Percy," Annabeth called. "Let's just grab the shield and go." She snatched it from the boat but felt something tug on it.

The Cupids came to life and aimed their arrows at the Cupid directly across from them. A video camera spiraled outward in sight and a voice began to count down.

"Live on Olympus in

Sixty seconds...

Fifty-nine..."

The Cupids began to fire their arrows, long strings of gold flying being them. Annabeth and Percy began to claw at the walls vainly in an attempt to get out before they were completely incased.

"Forty-three...

Forty-two..."

Suddenly, above the two, consistent, small pattering noises echoed in the hollow water pipes.

Annabeth stared up at the pipes in wonder, and the small metallic noise-makers exposed themselves.

They scurried down the wall and their beady red eyes glared at the two.

Annabeth screamed in terror and fell backwards on her bottom. She tripped and stumbled and rushed to stand.

"Percy!" She shrieked.

"What? What?" Percy shouted frantically.

"Sp-sp-spiders!" Annabeth screeched.

More spider robots poured out of the water pipes.

"Sp-sp-" Annabeth couldn't finish because she screamed as spider robots scuttled up her legs and clung to her.

Percy grabbed her under the arms and hauled her away before the bugs could do any real damage to her. When they got all the spiders off of her and reached the boat, Percy asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Annabeth panted. "Sorry. I'm deathly afraid of spiders."

Percy nodded and swallowed a big gulp of air. "Good and bad," he stated. "Bad, just 'cause, and good because I hope it's an amazing motivator to try and get out of this thing!"

"3...

2...

1...

Live on Olympus."

Percy tried to push a resisting Annabeth into the boat as the cameras sparked with life and moved around as if stretching after a long nap. They finally zeroed in on the two demigods and beeped twice. The said victims of the camera scrambled to get out of sight, the cursed camera catching their every movement.

"Get in the boat!" Percy ordered.

"What?" Annabeth exclaimed.

"Get in the freaking boat!"

Together, they crawled in the boat and held on tightly, especially Annabeth. Percy closed his eyes and prayed to his mother that this would work. His face scrunched up and a large column of fire exploded from his hand and hit the ground, the force and power of the fast-moving fire pushing the boat into action. Just as quick, Percy prayed to Poseidon and willed the left over water in the rusty, old pipes to flow. He felt something in the gut, as if someone had punched him in the abdomen.

Percy's expression changed to one of immense concentration and slight pain. With a grunt, Percy pushed himself harder and—finally—water exploded from the pipes located on the sides of the bowl and swirled in circles until it reached Annabeth and Percy.

"Percy!" Annabeth cried.

The said person opened his eyes to see a large wave of water wash toward them. He hastily strapped Ares's shield to his arm and grasped the side of the boat firmly.

The two half-bloods screamed as they swished around the bowl and through tunnels, watching spiders fly and swim all over the place.

Annabeth let out a warning shriek as she noticed a gate that they were nearing. "Percy!"

Percy whipped his head around and his breath hitched when he saw the gate Annabeth was pointing at. It should've been fine, but when the amusement park had closed down, they had locked the gates together, preventing any boats from going through as two already crashed boats had demonstrated.

"Get up," Percy ordered, slowly standing himself.

Annabeth copied his action and Percy said, "Okay, when we hit the gate, we're going to use the force to throw ourselves off the boat and—hopefully—get out alive.

"On my count—"

"No, on _my _count!" Annabeth said.

"What?" Percy questioned. "Okay, then, on _your_ count."

Annabeth and Percy balanced themselves on the edge of the boat and bent their knees. Annabeth wavered. She hesitated, then yelled, "Now!" and jumped like a suicidal person.

Percy followed fractions of a second after her and was glad he let her decide when to jump because if they jumped when he thought they should've jumped, they would've died.

Grover leaped off of the side of the boat and shouted "Maia!" causing wings to sprout from the shoes. He launched himself towards the two falling demigods and snatched them from the air: Annabeth by the arm, Percy by the shirt.

"Ow!" Annabeth yelped.

"Sorry!" Grover said back. "Uh-oh, we're going down!"

The three spiraled down under their weight and crashed into a bill board sign. Standing up, they brushed off their clothes and Percy unstrapped the shield from his arm.

He stared at his friends. "We need to have a little talk with a certain god."

**Okay, I am SO, SO, SO SORRY that this chapter was such a short one. I was rushing to update it and school's been such a drag lately.**

**It may be a while—a **_**LONG **_**while—until I update again. I apologize! But please be patient.**

**I don't expect any reviews this chapter, you guys made up for like, four chapters worth of reviews.**

***= page 224, TLT**

**`= page 227, TLT**

**Until next time**

**~Lunatic**


	9. Time Of Dying

**Chapter 9**  
**Okay...I am officially sick of a bunch of certain reviews from an anonymous guest or group of guests.**  
**To Guest(s):**  
**I realize that you love Perthena (Percy/Athena for those who don't know) and I get it. But you need to restrain your fingers from clicking the little box on the bottom and typing "PERTHENA!" or "Perseus is smart" or "Athena and Percy pairing! MAKE IT!" or "Athena is perfect for Percy!" Stop. I'm. Not. Kidding. This story is not a romance one—it NEVER will be! AND I hate Perthena. I don't even ship POthena. I'm not going to change my story immensely so I can tend to your command. That would put a large twist in this story. And while you're at it, ask Rick Riordan to have a jealous Athena break up Percabeth and then she can rape Percy! Is he gonna do it for you? NO! Am I gonna do it for you? NO! Perthena is a NO! UNDERSTAND?! You have gotten on my last nerve and if I receive at least THREE more reviews demanding Perthena, I will blow. I will delete this story just so I don't have to deal with you anymore. If you want Perthena, there's this simple thing on the bottom (or top) on FF that has boxes for certain searches. Here, I'll guide you: click on Character A (understand so far? Or is it too complex for you to understand? Just like it was too complex for you to understand that this isn't a romance story. If I wanted Perthena, I would have made it one from the beginning) and press Athena. Then click Character B and select Percy. Slowly (so your slow processing brain can comprehend what's happening) move your mouse up to "Genre" and select "Romance". OH MY GODS, VIOLA! Thousands of Perthena stories to select from! Amazing, isn't it? So, please, shut your face, because I'm sick of it. No. More. Perthena. Requests. If you want it so bad, make an account and PM me personally about your Perthena obsession. I really hope you understand this, because if not, in the next AN, I am going to cuss like a trucker. Got it?**

**Ooh-wee! Gee, I was upset up there, huh? _But I mean it. Three more Perthena requests, and this story is up for adoption. I'm not sorry. If you guys want to yell at this Perthena requester, just put "Dear Perthena Person" in your review followed by your rant. I'll post it up in an AN for him or her to see._**  
**So, the last chapter sucked, I know. This one probably won't be much better, but I'll give it a shot.**  
**Thanks to all those who actually decided to review. I did say you guys didn't have to.**  
_**Special thanks to IVY THE LEAFEON for telling me to get up and off my lazy butt, and to start writing.**_  
**By the way, Percy may seem a bit rude to the gods, but it's only because he grew up around them and got a bit confortable with them. Also, his parents are both super powerful and he knows that he would be protected.**  
**Disclaimer: Not even a teenager yet. I don't own PJO. If you see my name on the books, stop hanging out with Dionysus. He's getting you way too hyped up on the happy juice.**  
**Wait! No disclaimer on chapter 7?! Well, I must make up for that!**  
**Disclaimer in Chapter 7: All rights go to Rick Riordan. My pseudonym is unknown lunatic, not RR.**  
**3rd Person POV**  
"Ares!"  
Percy stormed up to the smirking god who was leaning on his motorcycle in the middle of the diner's parking lot.  
"I see you didn't die, punk," Ares commented, still smirking obnoxiously.  
"You knew," Percy said, ignoring Ares's statement. "You knew it was a trap, and you sent us there anyways just for your amusement, and so you and your little girlfriend don't get stuck in it like we did."  
Ares's nostrils flared and and stopped leaning on his bike. "Listen, and listen good, brat. I sent you there for a reward. I said that I would give you a ride west in return for my shield," Ares said, ignoring Percy's comment, though glaring harshly at the boy.  
Annabeth spoke up, "Um, Lord Ares, I apologize, but where's the ride you promised? I mean, it'd be fine if you didn't get us one, but if you did get us one, that would be—"  
"Fantastic?" Ares interjected. Then cockily, he continued, "I know, I'm amazing like that. You're welcome, I got a ride anyway."  
Percy opened his mouth to speak but Ares glared at him. "Take it," Ares hissed, "or nothing."  
Annabeth glared at Percy, making him shut his mouth and stare angrily at the floor. Annabeth nudged Percy roughly and smiled apologetically at Ares. Percy grumbled a complaint under his breath and pushed the shield forward, watching Ares greedily grab at it and missing.  
Percy yanked the shield back towards him and Ares was forced to grab air. Realizing what Percy did, Ares ferociously snarled at Percy while saying, "Hand it over, kid, I gotta run after this. More important things than you and your friends."  
Percy backed up a couple steps as Ares pounded forward, fists clenched at his sides.  
"Show me what our ride is," Percy ordered.  
Billowed steam was practically wafting out of Ares's ears. He snapped his arm in the direction of an eighteen-wheeler with a sign dangling on the back. Luckily for Percy, he could actually read it since it was reverse-printed white on black. The sign read:_ KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS_.  
Percy was not happy about the fact that he had to ride with a bunch of animals for a long period of time, only to get to Los Angeles, even though that was the destination he desperately needed to get to.  
"You're kidding," Percy gaped.  
While Percy was distracted, Ares snatched his shield back and transformed it into a bulletproof vest, swinging it over his shoulder. Then, Ares snapped his fingers causing he back door to the truck to unlatch. "Nope," Ares popped the P. "Free ride west, no complaining or it vanishes. Now here's a little _treat_ for doing my job."  
He plucked a blue nylon backpack from his handlebars and tossed it to Percy.  
Peering inside, Percy saw fresh clothes for him and his friends, twenty dollars of mortal cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.  
Looking up, Percy said, "I don't need your supplies—"  
"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover butted in. "We appreciate your kindness and help to us on this quest." Grover shot Percy a warning look.  
Sighing, Percy grumbled, "Thanks a ton."  
Percy knew that Ares's presence was affecting his dander, but he couldn't help but show reluctance with putting the backpack on. He didn't want anything Ares had touched. He didn't want to deal with Ares at all. The god of war just standing in front of Percy made bad memories rise.  
Peeking over his shoulder, Percy caught a glimpse of the waitress that had served them nervously looking at them every now and then. She seemed afraid of Ares and concerned about the demigods being hurt by the war god. The waitress disappeared for a second then reappeared, dragging the fry cook behind her. She said something to him, making him look at the demigods too. The fry cook nodded and took out a disposable camera, snapping a picture of the four.  
_Oh, great_, Percy thought bitterly._ By tomorrow, we'll be on the cover again._  
Ares hopped on his motorcycle, but Percy dashed forward and placed a hand on Ares's handlebars.  
"What?" Ares snapped impatiently.  
Percy paused, then quietly asked, "Do you know where my mom is?"  
Ares grunted. "Hades doesn't have her. I know that."  
Percy's brow furrowed. "Why would Hades have her?"  
Ares sighed dramatically. "Hades's Helm of Darkness is missing too and he believes one of his brothers has it. Except, the gods can't steal each other's weapon of power. He probably thinks Poseidon got you to steal it for him because Zeus's kid is a tree. So, it seems logical that he would take your mother hostage in order to control you—make you give the helm back. Study some war, punk. You're out of it."  
Percy balled his fists. "But who has her?"  
Ares shrugged. "Your other quest is to find out. We don't have an enemy at the moment, though Athena proposed that Kronos is rising again." Ares scoffed. "Like that's going to happen. Keep your eyes open."  
"You're pretty arrogant and smug, Ares, for a wimp who runs from Cupid statues."  
Ares lowered his sunglasses and glared evilly at Percy. "Watch it, punk. Next time you get into a fight, watch your back. Luck won't be on your side."  
Revving his engine, Ares sped away, the spinning wheels kicking dust up and blurring the trio's vision.  
Coughing, the three looked around for the god, only to see him gone. Annabeth regained her composure first and smacked Percy upside the head.  
"Ow!" Percy exclaimed. "What was that for?!"  
Annabeth glowered at him. "How could you_ insult _a _god_? You must be crazy! That was _not_ a smart move, Percy."  
"I don't care, Annabeth. I care about my mom."  
"You don't want a god for an enemy. Especially that one."  
"Too late."  
"Uh, guys?" Grover nervously bleated. "I hate to rain on your parade, but..." He pointed at the diner's register where two men stood while paying their check. They both wore black coveralls with a white logo attached to the backside that matched the one on the truck.  
"I'm thinking that we're taking that truck," Grover announced. "And that we should hurry."  
Scampering silently towards the truck, each demigod cautiously hopped into the truck and shut the back door quietly. They could barely see in the darkness and nearly choked on the stench of the animals.  
As they looked for a place to hide amongst the animals, Grover scrunched up his nose in anger. "THIS is their kindness to animals?!" He asked increduously.  
"Shh!" Annabeth and Percy scolded.  
"Sorry," Grover whispered back, somewhat sheepishly.  
The three talked a bit about useless things. After discussing the animals' treatment, Percy had switched the food—hamburger meat for the lion, and the turnips for the antelope and zebra—and refilled the water bowls. Grover soothed the antelope as Annabeth cut off a balloon that was tied to its horn. After talking a bit more, the three decided to sleep the rest of the night. Annabeth lied down and closed her eyes as Grover began to snore, and Percy just lain in his sleeping section looking up. Loud snores erupted from Grover and the lion stared hungrily at Percy making him feel uncomfortable. After tossing and turning for what seemed like eternity to Percy, he finally closed his eyes and slipped into a deep sleep—one inhabited with a nightmare.

* * *

Percy sat at a desk and stared down at the standardized test that faced him. He wore a straitjacket and sat stiffly as all the children ran out the door to recess. Percy slowly looked up and found his mother dressed as a teacher and standing directly in front of his desk.  
Percy wavered, then softly asked, "Mom?"  
Hestia glared down at Percy and slammed a hand on his desk. _Come on, Percy. Didn't I teach you well? Are you stupid? Pick up your pencil._  
Percy's bottom lip quivered in shame. He expected to be scolded very harshly from the newly mean Hestia when suddenly his dream went awry. A girl popped up in the desk neighboring his, except she also wore a straitjacket. She was around Percy's age, but had unruly black, punk-styled hair, freckles spalshed across her nose, and dark eyeliner popping her stormy green-blue eyes. As soon as Percy looked at her, he knew who she was by a tug in his gut. He knew that she was Thalia, daughter of Zeus.  
Thalia pulled and struggled against her straitjacket and huffed in irritation. Glaring at Percy with frustrated eyes, she snapped, _Well, Seaweed Brain? One of us has to escape, why not you?  
__She's right_, Percy's dream figure thought. _I have to get out of here; away from this new Hestia, and I need to find the real one._  
The second Percy stopped thinking, his straitjacket melted right off, and he fell through the floor. Hestia continued to scold him from above, but as Percy descended deeper down, his mother's voice changed until it got colder, deeper, and darker, evil dripping from its words and echoing across the chasm.  
_Perseus Jackson_, the voice addressed. _I believe that the exchange went well?_  
Percy's dream self glanced around, looking for the owner of the voice. The voice's owner was unknown, and nowhere to be seen, yet the next time it spoke, it didn't speak to Percy.  
_And does he suspect anything? _it asked.  
A voice that Percy almost recognized answered from his shoulder. _No, my lord. He is ags ignorant_ _to the situation as__ everybody else.  
_Percy looked at the spots near his shoulder, but saw nothing. He twirled around but both speakers were still unseen in the vast darkness.  
_Deceiving the deception_, the creature pondered aloud. _Wonderful._  
_But—_ the servant protested.  
_But nothing!_ the thing snapped. _You know your limits! If I hadn't done what I did, you would have failed._  
_I'm-I'm sorry, my lord—_  
_Silence! Zeus is angry. Poseidon is using his last hope. Hestia is held hostage.  
_Percy felt fury well up inside of him. This evil figure in the pit captured his mother!  
_However,_ the thing continued, _It seems_—_oh, it seems we have a guest.  
_The servant at Percy's shoulder's voice tensed up and Percy could feel the air beside him stiffen. _What? How... Did you summon him, my lord?_  
_I would never,_ the creature responsed. _It seems his powerful blood and family made him bring himself here._  
Percy could practically feel the evil smile in the thing's voice.  
_Wishing for a dream relating to your quest?_ the creature hissed. _Very well, then.  
_Percy's dream shifted.  
Skeleton bones littered the dirty, brown dirt in a circle, an immense throne seated terrifyingly over the ground. Skulls and tombs surrounded the throne, dead skeletal hands peeking out of the soil.  
In the center of the circle sat a tethered Hestia, and a certain witch sauntering around the goddess leisurely.  
"So," the witch drawled, running her finger across Hestia's face. Hestia cringed and pulled away from the bony hand. "Are you prepared to announce the location of your little boy?"  
Hestia gritted her teeth. "I don't know where he is."  
The witch barked a scoffing laugh. "Of course, you don't," Hecate sneered sarcastically.  
"Why do you need to know where he is so badly?" Hestia scowled.  
"We need to know where he is so we can send our monsters after him, and so he is permanently annihilated."  
Hestia immediately yanked on her restraints and growled murderously. Her normally calm, brown irises flared with anger and she glared at Hecate so hard it could have rivaled Hades's.  
"Tell me where he is!" Hecate roared.  
"I don't know!" Hestia screamed. "And if I did I would never tell sick...sick _bastards_ like _you_!"  
Hecate gasped in offense and slapped Hestia across the face. The hurt victim grimaced and flinched at the sharp sting, for the cheek that had been slapped was cut and bleeding slightly already.  
More blood poured out of the knife wound as it reopened. Pain spread through Hestia's face and she hissed in agony.  
"Say, Hestia," Hecate said, smirking evilly, "since you're fire, the natural enemy of water, you are pained easily by water, correct? And answer honestly, or else your little boy is bye-bye."  
Hestia paled. She knew what was coming. Gulping, she nodded.  
A half-smile slowly found its way across Hecate's lips. "Perfect." She snapped her fingers twice and pointed at Hestia. "Chinese water torture," Hecate purred. The she leaned in until her lips touched the tip of Hestia's ear, and whispered, "Answer during the torture or after." Hecate began to pull back, then paused and added, "If you're still sane at the end."  
Hecate cackled as soldiers clad in heavy armor and carrying multiple weapons untied Hedtia and hoisted her off the floor, then dragging her to a transparent-walled room.  
Securing Hestia in shackles and the head brace was quite troublesome for the men strapping her down. She squirmed and screamed, kicked and punched, bit and scratched.  
"Let me out of here!" Hestia screeched as bruises formed on her wrists and ankles from tugging furiously at the shackles.  
The guards—their faces impassive—resumed their positions lined up against the walls like in every torture. They remained silent and still as Hestia fiercely demanded they release her.  
"This is completely unfair! All of you know my weakness is—"  
Hestia stopped abruptly as a drop of water fell inbetween her eyes. The drop slid down and slipped in her eye. Hestia squeezed her eyes shut, unable to rub them with her arms chained up. She attempted to light mini fires in her eyes so the water would evaporate—it already stung. Unfortunately for Hestia, the building still restrained her from using her powers and the water remained in her eye.  
_Drip!_  
Another drop splashed on Hestia, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut again. The process repeated continuously, the drops falling every few seconds after an equal pause.  
Half-an-hour later, Hestia's face was red and her nose was puffy from crying. Her pained sobs echoed through the room, the drips of water mixing in with her salty tears. Hestia screamed in anger and agony, her slight claustrophobia slowly seeping into her thoughts, driving her insane.  
Hecate sat on her throne, smirking viciously. "Perhaps you can spill," Hecate suggested, "then we can let you out of your misery."  
Hestia only wailed in anguish, a sign of protest. Her face was scrunched up in pain from the barbarous torture, and she could hardly stand another minute in the water. But she made herself suffer through the excruciating torture and not give in so her son would stay okay.  
Hestia remained silent for the next few minutes, the only sound from her being her breathing. Her sobs ceased and she lay calmly on the table. Suddenly, her breathing hitched and her chest stopped moving.  
Hecate stood up harshly from her throne and began to hyperventilate; Hestia perishing meant no clue to where the son of Poseidon was located. She furiously shrieked, "Unstrap her! Take her away and back to the doctor! If she dies today and now, it would be IMPOSSIBLE for us to gain information about the boy!"  
Guards immediately rushed forward and clumsily, yet hastily, undid the locks on the goddess. Hestia's body remained unmoving, even with the locks undone. One guard scooped her up in his arms and carried her away to the most medically educated person in the room. The doctor checked her neck for a pulse and found none. He grabbed her arm and checked her wrist for any familiar thumps.  
In the blink of an eye, Hestia let out a piercing cry that surprised everyone. Guards that stood by the walls placed their hands on their weapons and the other guards closer to Hestia assumed a fighting stance. Hestia's body jerked roughly and she screamed one last word in desperation:  
"Percy!"

* * *

He woke with a start. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he panted heavily.  
Percy dropped his head in his hands and closed his eyes. "Mom," he whispered. Silent tears streaked down his face, his knees brought up to his chest.  
A few minutes later, the other two quest members had awoken. By then, Percy had stopped crying, and his nose and eyes were no longer red. The three companions dined on a breakfast of granola bars silently when the truck abruptly stopped. Immediately, the three sat up straight and were on high alert. Car doors slammed and the thump that emanated from them echoed in the back where the demigods rested.  
"Hide!" Annabeth hissed.  
As she slipped on her hat, Percy whisper-screamed "Easy for you to say!" and promptly dived behind the sack of turnips himself. The doors to the truck unlocked and light flooded the stinky back.  
"P.U!" one of the workers exclaimed. The other fanned his nose.  
"Ugh, I know. Let's just get rid of the zebra and get out of here, Eddie."  
"Fine," Eddie replied. "Maurice, go feed them or whatever." He left as the other man—Maurice—entered the truck and reached near the food sacks to get water, causing the two male quest companions to tense up. Once the water jug was in his hands, he refilled the water bowls and turned to the lion.  
"Sweatin' yet?" he asked. The lion growled in response, and Maurice splashed the remained water in the lion's face.  
The truck shook with vibrations of the lion's roar.  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the man said as he waved his hand dismissively.  
Next, he tossed the antelope a squashed Happy Meal bag. He didn't bother to say anything and walked over to the zebra.  
"Hey, Stripes. Good news: you leave here. Ya like magic shows? Good, good, 'cause in this one, they gonna saw you in half!" Mock enthusiasm was streaming off the man's words, and the zebra whinned in fear. Terror shone in his eyed and he stared straight at the son of Poseidon.  
_Free me, Lord.  
_Percy's eyes widened and he glanced at Grover to see if he had heard it too.  
Grover heard nothing.  
Percy was astonished and he was about to stand up when—  
_Bang, bang, bang!  
_Maurice looked up and backed out of the truck. "What, Eddie?" he yelled.  
"What do you mean 'what'?" Eddie shouted back. "I ain't doin' nothing!"  
_Bang, bang, bang!  
_"Quit banging on the side of the truck!" Maurice demanded.  
"I'm not banging!" Eddie insisted.  
"Ugh," Maurice complained. He stomped out of the truck and cursed at Eddie for being an idiot.  
Percy and Grover slowly rose to their feet as Annabeth took of her cap to reveal her position near the other two.  
"How is this legal?" Annabeth said.  
"It shouldn't be," Grover responded bitterly. "We have to free them."  
Percy heard the zebra speak again in his mind, and he took Riptide out of his pocket. He uncapped the pen and slashed through the lock on the zebra's cage. The zebra bowed to Percy and uttered a relieved thank you. Grover held his hands up and murmured a blessing.  
Maurice stuck his head in the truck to check on the animals as the zebra jumped and flew over his head.  
"Hey!" he shouted. "Eddie, get the zebra!"  
Maurice took off running and was soon followed by Eddie. Police sirens wailed and cops ran after the two men, blowing their whistles.  
Annabeth looked at Percy. "Leave?" she questioned.  
"No, wait!" Grover said. "The other animals too," he pleaded.  
Percy obliged and cut both of the other locks with his sword, and Grover repeated the same incantation for the other two animals. Then they leaped out of the truck and ran off.  
Screams emerged from some tourists while most just stood back and took pictures.  
"Are they gonna be okay?" Percy asked. "I mean, it's the desert and they might go—"  
"They'll be fine," Grover assured him. "I placed a satyr's sanctuary on them so they should be fine."  
Percy sent Grover a quizzical look. "Satyr's...what?"  
"It's a blessing," Grover explained. "It allows them to find safety, food, water, whatever they need in life to survive until they reach a safe place to live."  
"Ah," Percy said, nodding his head in understanding. "Wait, why can't we have this blessing?"  
"Because it's only for wild animals," Grover said.  
"So only Percy would be affected," Annabeth added.  
"Hey!" Percy protested. His friends laughed causing him to cross his arms and huff.  
"Okay," Annabeth said, clutching her sides from laughing too hard. A toothy smile was still plastered on her face as she said, "Let's get out of here. We need to get to Los Angeles as soon as possible."  
They stumbled out of the truck and were immediately shielding their eyes from the scorching sun.  
"Ugh," Percy complained. "Let's just find a couple sandwiches to eat or something, and then we can get back to the quest."  
The others nodded in agreement and began walking down the street. Suddenly, something urged Grover to point at a hotel and say "Hey! Let's go there!"  
So he did.  
The three approached the front doors of the hotel and stared in amazement at the big glowing letters above the doorway:  
_LOTUS HOTEL AND CASINO._  
A host greeted the kids with a warm smile and shouted, "Hey, kids! You look tired and hungry; why don't you guys stay here a bit and refresh yourselves?"  
The three looked at each other then back at the breath-taking hotel inside.  
"Eh, what the heck?" Percy said. And so the three sauntered in.

**I'm so sorry for the late update. I checked my story out and realized it had been a over month since my last update. I'll try to update faster, but no promises—school started.**  
**Everyone check out The Prisoners' Escape by ForgetTheWalls97. It's a cute yet amazingly awesome story, and I love it. So I'm asking you guys to read it, and if you do, thanks!**


	10. I'm sorry Very Important

Hey guys. Listen, I'm sorry about not updating. I don't want to work on this story anymore. All of you probably hate me right now and I completely understand. I hate myself too. If anyone wants to adopt the story notify me?

The reason I don't want to work on this story is because I don't know what to write. That and I have to life motivation anymore. I mean, I don't want to give all of you a horribly written super depressed story just because I feel like dying. That's not fair. So this is probably the last time I'll ever be on this site again. Thank you for reading this even though it sucked.

You must have an account to adopt the story. PM me

Don't do what I'll do. Just don't.

~Unknown Lunatic


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